The Turkish foreign minister notes the country will ensure security of the Russian tourists

SOCHI, July 1. /TASS/. The contacts between the Russian and Turkish governments with the goal of normalizing bilateral relations will be held soon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi on Friday.

"Yesterday a decree of the Russian president was signed that orders the Russian government to enter in consultations with the government of Turkey to coordinate certain steps on normalizing a whole range of our relations. Today together with Minister Cavusoglu we agreed that such contacts will be organized in the near future," Lavrov said.

Lavrov also said that at Friday’s meeting Cavusoglu pledged that all measures will be taken to ensure the security of tourists. "They assured that the Turkish side will take all the necessary measures to ensure security of Russian tourists and as I understand the tourists from other countries as well," he said.

He said the Russian citizens and the nationals of other countries need to take into consideration the terrorist threat in Turkey what was shown by the outrageous attack at Istanbul’s airport on June 28 that killed more than 40 people and injured 239 others.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on sales of tours to Turkey for Russians that had been in force for more than six months. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on tourist companies and tourists to have a responsible approach when planning trips to Turkey and take into consideration the risk of a terrorist threat.